Reef faces invasive species hazard

The risk of introducing invasive species will rise alongside vessel traffic.

Lisa Michele Burns

Harmful invasive species could be introduced into the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem due to a rise in shipping activity to service Queensland's mining boom, a Federal Government adviser has warned.

Marnie Campbell, chairwoman of a scientific panel monitoring how the development of liquefied natural gas hubs off Gladstone and the resulting increase in vessel traffic will affect marine life around the reef, believes biosecurity is a growing danger.

A predicted rise in coal exports is expected to produce huge growth in shipping through waters close to the Great Barrier Reef over the next decade.

At least six major port developments are either planned or underway along the Queensland coast inshore from the reef.

"There are some things that from my perspective still haven't really even been addressed," Professor Campbell said.

"I do a lot of biosecurity work about introduced marine species and really that hasn't been fully addressed. If you get an increase in vessels moving into this area, there's more chance of an introduced species coming in.

"We've been told ... quite glibly that introduced species aren't a problem in the tropics; well, that's not the case.

"We've got quite a few examples of black-striped mussel in Darwin; we've had [examples] of Cairns having green-lip mussel. We've had a fan worm in Cairns as well.

"If we go to Hawaii, there's quite a few examples of introduced species that have caused impacts."

Evolution of reef threats

Threats to the reef have varied over the years but a combination of floods, cyclones, and increased industrial activity from the resources boom has the reef under unprecedented stress.

Already this year record numbers of marine life have suffered disease or died.

In 1974, a Royal Commission into petroleum drilling prohibited one of the first major man-made threats to the reef, but challenges to the natural wonder have continued to arise.

Never before has the long-term health of the reef been such a concern, following problems with foreigners entering Australian waters to poach clams in the 1980s; algae and over-fishing in the 1990s; tourism, agricultural run-off, coral bleaching and climate change in the 2000s; and the dredging and port expansions of today.

The amount of live reef covered by live coral is indicative of the health of the reef. Currently, coral coverage is just 20 per cent - down from 50 per cent about 50-60 years ago.

Concern about the reef is not limited to Australia and the World Heritage Committee will next year send a team to inspect Curtis Island and a raft of other port developments planned for the Queensland coast that could impact the World Heritage Area.

Port expansions

The increase in vessels on the harbour to service the LNG hub is already making life for turtles, dolphins and endangered dugongs even more perilous.

"There's going to be a lot of vessel movement," Professor Campbell said.

"Therefore anything that swims in the way of a vessel, [they] don't stop quickly and have a minimum set speed that's actually quite high, and so animals are going to get hit.

"There's an expectation that will occur, more so for the turtles than the dugongs and the dolphins, just because the dugongs and dolphins are probably able to leave the area, where the turtles tend to be more curious and will stay around the area a bit longer."

The number of animals struck by vessels this year has trebled.

However, Gladstone Ports Corporation's Leo Zussino says vessel strikes in the local harbour are not above average.

"The issue with the mammal deaths along the Queensland coast has been significant this year," he said.

"There's been something like 154 dugong deaths, but nine in Gladstone.

"There's been some 45 dolphin deaths and six in Gladstone, and 1,044 turtle deaths on the Queensland coast and 240 or so in Gladstone.

"So there's been a significant impact along the whole Queensland coast, and a lot of that is because the sea grasses have been denuded and the turtles and the dugongs are starving.

"When they starve they [are more likely] to get strikes. We are conditioned under the dredging project to provide strategic vessel management in the dugong-protected areas.

"Now the western basin is not one of those areas, but we'll be implementing that vessel strategy over the next few months."